


the hellfire from two protective older brothers.

by outkaast



Series: luffy is hurting and that shall be recognized [2]
Category: One Piece
Genre: Adorable Monkey D. Luffy, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Kidnapping, Brotherly Affection, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, It's Soft, Portgas D. Ace Lives, Protective Portgas D. Ace, Protective Sabo (One Piece), be warned this wasn't proofread, episode 483 never happened, i need to write more sabo and luffy please it lengthens my life expectancy, sabo and ace teasing luffy, sabo gains his memories before marineford because i said so, theyre adorable your honor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:49:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,947
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28339503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/outkaast/pseuds/outkaast
Summary: ace turned to sabo, a smirk so similar to luffy's it made him shiver, "wanna go save our idiot kid brother?"sabo mirrored his smirk, "hell yeah."or: sabo and ace are mother hens, and luffy is a crybaby.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace, Monkey D. Luffy & Portgas D. Ace & Sabo, Monkey D. Luffy & Sabo, Portgas D. Ace & Sabo
Series: luffy is hurting and that shall be recognized [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2112039
Comments: 6
Kudos: 112





	the hellfire from two protective older brothers.

**Author's Note:**

> this wasn't proofread, and was a bitch to write. 
> 
> enjoy!
> 
> (if you want to know how they look reference sabo from stampede, ace post marineford with no hole in his chest, and luffy from impel down.)

here's some backstory for how sabo, ace, and koala ended up here.

at marineford, akainu knocked luffy unconscious, and went for him. ace had dove for him, sabo appeared of literal thin air, and they both saved luffy's unconscious ass. they fought side by side against admiral akainu, and jinbe, ivankov, and the others scooped up luffy and made a break for a navy ship. sabo had grabbed ace and pulled him out of there after blackbeard had started after whitebeard.

now, here were the two brothers discussing what to do next.

.  
.  
.

sabo glanced at ace, confused.

when ace had said there was a bigger problem to deal with, sabo wasn't exactly comforted.

"well, who?" sabo questioned. sabo was pretty sure he already knew due to the newspaper, but he couldn't always trust that.

ace sighed, "blackbeard, obviously." blackbeard wasn't on ace's good side at the moment. he was after him to get revenge for thatch, but disrespected whitebeard's reputation by getting captured.

sabo sighed, frustrated he was right. "of all people." blackbeard was the scum of all scum. he had capture sabo's brother, killed whitebeard, became a yonko in the process and stole the ex-yonko's devil fruit.

sabo snorted, "he's greedy, even for a pirate." that was an understatement.

ace nodded, "i can't believe i let myself get turned in to the marines by him. of anyone in the world. i'd rather lose to luffy than be captured by him."

the blonde-haired man grinned despite the situation. "so where's rubber boy?"

ace's self-pity looking expression morphed into undisguised humor. "he's with jinbe and ivankov. i take it he befriended the two of them in his journey in impel down."

sabo growled thinking of his baby brother's idiotic expedition to rescue ace from that hellhole. "what was that dumbass thinking, going into impel down?"

ace shook his head scornfully, "he wasn't."

the other groaned, "i'm going to kill him, next time i see him."

"get in line," ace mumbled, pressing his palm to his face. "how do you think i felt when the pirate empress lady came and told me luffy was in the building?"

sabo glared at the floor, counting the lines between the tiles, "we're both gonna have to corner him and beat him up."

ace grinned slightly, "that's something i can get with."

the two of them grinned like sharks at each other, agreeing about their childish scheme.

koala sighed from her spot in the corner of the room, disappointed with her fellow revolutionary's behavior.

"idiots. i work with idiots."

sabo and ace flinched, "i didn't even know you were there!" sabo chuckled.

koala grinned, but there was a tense edge to it.

"anyways, sabo, you have bigger things to worry about. speaking of luffy-kun, i got word blackbeard's after him."

both brothers froze, sabo's eyes glinted dangerously, and ace's frown got the slightest unnerving edge to it.

koala continued, pretending to not notice their shocked but angry states, "blackbeard feels as though luffy-kun will get to ace, and targeting luffy will get ace to just run out and show himself again. i do believe blackbeard's earlier threat of killing luffy back on that island you two fought on, the reason you didn't back down is because blackbeard mentioned killing luffy-kun."

ace growled, "well, of course i'm going to show myself. luffy is fucked over if he fights blackbeard alone, and me and sabo both know luffy won't back down from a fight."

sabo's fists trembled with white hot fury, "not unless you beat it into luffy he cannot fight blackbeard. ace, best way to convince him to avoid him is the fear factor. just rub it in i almost was killed by him and you were captured by him."

ace murmured under his breath, "that's quite cruel."

sabo cocked his head, "suppose so. but we're going to save luffy, so it doesn't matter now."

luffy's ship was- to koala's calculations - out of supplies and was dropping anchor at an island with a small town on one side of it. the rest of the island was jungle.

ace turned to sabo, a smirk so similar to luffy's it made him shiver, "wanna go save our idiot kid brother?"

sabo mirrored his smirk, "hell yeah."

koala face-palmed, "i can't with you lot. get out of here, the both of you." koala's supposed 'anger' wasn't boding well with the growing, amused grin on her face.

sabo and ace sniggered like idiots, chasing each other out of the room.

.  
.  
.

koala knocked on the door to sabo's room.

sabo hollered from the inside, also hearing ace murmur questioningly from in the room.

"who is it?" sabo asked.

"it's koala!" koala cried back. "we're here."

ace and sabo jumped out of the room in an instant, both of them ready for a fight.

koala flinched back, "jeez, i can't catch a break with you two. go up to the deck, we've arrived."

sabo started towards the stairs, ace following suit. sabo's pipe was strapped to his back, and ace's hands flickered uncertainly with fire.

when sabo, koala, and ace reached the deck they could see the island, and they could see blackbeard's and the navy ship that luffy 'borrowed.'

"shit, they're already here!" ace gasped.

"they've might've already gotten to him." sabo said, way too calmly.

ace jumped on the railing, and jumped off the boat, landing with a thump onto the hard earth. sabo groaned.

"i-ugh, wait for me!"

sabo jumped after him, and when sabo landed both of them turned inland and made a run for it.

koala groaned in frustration from her spot on deck. they never listen do they? what does koala have to do to get anyone to think sensibly?

koala shook her head, she was used to sabo's frustratingly rash moves. she was horrified that there were two more just like him. according to the news, it seems the strawhat boy was the delinquent of the three. koala was lucky to have befriended the most levelheaded of the three brothers, but he alone was a handful. she wanted to meet the last of the three, luffy-kun, herself. he seemed extremely interesting, for all the things he has done in his pirate life. crocodile, CP-9, marineford, the break-in and riot at impel down? that topped both ace and sabo.

sabo himself said when they were going to rescue ace that his efforts would pale in comparison to what luffy would go to just to get his brother back.

koala was comforted by the fact luffy must be a painfully loyal captain, no matter how much of a handful, he was extremely trustworthy. she was glad sabo-kun had such of a one-of-a-kind sibling.

now, what was she doing again?

right. saving strawhat's rubbery ass.

(except, that wasn't her job. that was sabo's and ace's. she felt bad for the kid for when they finished and the two elders would kick his ass themselves.)

.  
.  
.

ace and sabo made their way through the small town, and then approached the jungle part of the island.

sabo breathed in through his teeth, "if they hurt luffy.."

"we'll kick their asses." ace finished.

but sabo looked unconvinced. "but, ace, it's blackbeard! he has whitebeard's fruit now, and the ability to cancel out devil fruits. he turned you in and almost killed me! we're outmatched. our best bet is grabbing luffy and getting the hell out of here."

ace sighed angrily, "i wish i could give blackbeard the beating him deserves. for hurting you two, killing thatch, betraying literally everyone, and putting me and luffy through hell."

sabo opened his mouth to provide some sort of comfort, but faint screams caught their attention.

it sounded like a struggle, and ace recognized the small, faint voice of jinbe coming from afar.

ace gasped, eyes alight in fury, "that's jinbe!" ace pulled sabo along towards the voices.

sabo stuttered, "are you sure? you sure you really heard the fish man?"

"i'm positive." ace affirmed, "now come on, asshole!"

"screw you," the blonde half-heartedly muttered, picking up his pace.

when they got closer to the voices, they could make out the voices belonging to teach, jinbei, iva, and probably some revolutionaries and teach's crew members.

ace and sabo glanced at each other mid-run in concern when they heard jinbei bellow, "let him go!"

they quickened their run, and came to stop by trees surrounding a clearing in the jungle. they hid in the green, and the older brothers realized what they saw.

ace's fists shook with effort not to burn this jungle to pieces. sabo's fingers gripped his pipe so hard he was positive they'd dent.

in the clearing, was jinbei and iva, bleeding and bruised, obviously still worn from the fight. jinbei looked awful, and he was obviously still healing. iva looked relatively fine for coming back from the war, but he was covered in bleeding cut wounds and bruises as well. both were breathing hard, and incapacitated, preventing them from getting off the ground and attacking the figures opposite of themselves. the other revolutionaries didn't seem to be faring well either. it didn't seem to help with sea prism handcuffs on iva, inazuma, and some other revolutionaries. standing next to jinbe was one of teach's crew, the sniper.

but what really got sabo and ace angry, was what they saw on blackbeard's side. which also seemed to be what iva and jinbei were glaring angrily at.

it was their baby brother.

their baby brother. and their baby brother was bound, gagged, and knocked into next week.

luffy's arms were loosely wrapped around his midway, a sad attempt to stop the blood gushing from his middle.

luffy's eyes were blinking slowly, and sabo figured luffy's vision was blurry and teary.  
his wrists were bound in sea-stone chains, and the gag in his mouth was obviously not planned, but it seems luffy's hotheaded personality landed him somewhere worse than the last.

luffy's body was still half-bandaged, and his blood was oozing through the bandages around his body.

blackbeard, the old jackass himself made an appearance.

ace grit his teeth, sabo exhaling loudly through his nose.

teach gripped luffy's shirt, pulling their baby brother into the air, "i expected more, to be honest, from a runt like you." he hummed mockingly. "brother of fire-fist ace, son of the revolutionary's leader, grandson to vice-admiral garp, and this is all you can do?"

luffy managed to spit the gag out, but he couldn't even retort. he was probably borderline to falling into unconsciousness, but sabo could see the way luffy's eyes flashed.

sabo couldn't help but feel proud of the kid. he wished that luffy wasn't tied in sea prism so he could give blackbeard the beating he truly deserved.

that is, if blackbeard didn't have two very deadly devil fruits.

"all this, me capturing you, is only just to bring your older brother here." luffy flinched at the reminder. teach grinned, "i figured you'd be angry. you are the bait after all, and your brother will take it hook, line, and sinker."

luffy's hands trembled from where they were in his chains.

teach set luffy on the ground. luffy toppled over in exhaustion, but everyone knew he was still listening. luffy's fingers fidgeted with his chains, as if he was still trying to break free. luffy moaned in pain, "my wound.." he whispered.

"i guess i shouldn't be too hard on you." blackbeard tapped his chin with his index finger in thought. "you did break into impel down, broke out, then made a last-ditch effort to save ace." teach broke out in a laugh, too mocking, too cruel. he sneered in luffy's face, spitting on him for good measure. "in the end, you could've gotten your dear brother ace killed! akainu would've slaughtered you, i saw it myself! ace jumped in the way, but it's too bad your second brother, sabo, interfered. it would've been quite a touching show if ace died right there. i would've loved to see the look on your face and you realize ace died because he was saving you." teach gripped luffy's hair, slamming his skull into the ground. luffy cried out, in shock, pain, whatever, sabo didn't know. luffy seemed too caught up with teach's speech about ace to care he got his head slammed in. sabo could tell that luffy wasn't really there, since teach just revealed sabo was in marineford and luffy hadn't seemed to have registered that whatsoever.

in the corner of his eyes, jinbe growled, and muttered to iva. sabo strained to hear. "teach is trying to get in luffy's head."

inazuma clicked his tongue, "emotional manipulation." sabo shivered.

iva groaned quietly in frustration, "poor straw-boy. this blackbeard fellow is gonna make our boy wallow in the possibilities of what could've happened."

jinbei whispered, "if we could talk, we could tell luffy to not work himself over what could've happened. he could realize he should appreciate the blonde one for saving him."

iva whispered to him, "jinbe, luffy wasn't awake when sabo showed up. he still thinks he's dead, yknow."

oh yeah. luffy doesn't know sabo is still alive.

sabo would've scoffed at the nickname 'the blonde one,' but he was too busy calming ace down to care.

sabo should've known ace would act rashly to luffy's manipulation. sabo being with the revolutionaries has taught him how to deal with that, but ace has never dealt with it, much less be the one being used as the manipulation.

sabo grabbed ace's wrists and pulled him back. ace strangled in his hold, "let me go, sabo." his voice was tight, angry, and downright filled with fury.

sabo didn't let up. "you need to calm down, ace. wriggling around like this to fight a fight you can't win won't help luffy."

"but teach is hurting luffy."

sabo flinched. "i know, ace. but you need to calm down. we'll make him pay for that after we save luffy. we're lucky luffy will fall unconscious so we can just carry him to the ship instead of teach picking a fight."

ace stopped struggling, but he was still tense and his clenched fists still shook. sabo let go of him.

"teach knows how to get in luffy's head, so it's good he'll be asleep."

ace shushed sabo, earning ace a slap on the shoulder, but ace pointed discreetly at the clearing once again.

teach sighed, frustrated. "i figured that hardheaded fire boy would be here by now." he chuckled sardonically, nudging luffy's limp head with his shoe. "aww. seems like strawhat is all alone. no older brother to protect you this time, it seems."

his crew and teach laughed like idiots.

ace's skin flickered threateningly, "if only they _knew_."

luffy coughed, and both brothers snapped their heads up. luffy's voice was used and worn, and croaky and tired and broken and everything sabo hated to see on his ball of sunshine brother, "it's better if-" luffy whined in pain, clutching his chest.

that's where akainu hit him good, sabo's brain supplied unhelpfully.

ace murmured to sabo sadly, voice coated in sorrow. "that's gotta be hurting like a bitch. akainu's magma hit him straight in that spot, i assume it's still healing. if teach keeps throwing him around, luffy's bound to bleed out if the wound reopens."

sabo sucked in a breath, "assuming the doctor that saved him closed it."

ace filled in for sabo, "the rookie, trafalgar law. the surgeon of death. a friend of luffy's? ally, maybe."

sabo added on, "luffy has a terrifying power of rallying others towards him. he makes everyone around him his ally. trafalgar might've fallen into luffy's orbit."

the fire user nodded in agreement.

in the present, luffy finished his sentence. "it's better if ace..doesn't come."

teach grinned, "why is that?"

"it's safer. you already got him sent straight to hell."

"i plan to do the same to you. it'd be even better if they put you in the same chains they used on ace." teach laughed cruelly.

ace snarled, "like hell you will." sabo shushed him softly.

luffy shivered. "oh, ace." he said to himself. "i'm so sorry." luffy dropped his head, staring at his chains. luffy sighed quietly, mumbling fruitless apologies. he swayed slightly, his eyelids dropping over his usually bright, round eyes, except now they were dark and hooded. luffy made a thump on the grass as he fell unconscious.

ace's frown intensified after watching that, but he spoke to sabo, "enough of this. we need to make our move. i can't stand to stare at this any longer."

the pipe-user nodded in agreement, "he's unconscious. grab him and get the fuck out of here, brother."

ace opened his mouth to protest, but sabo glared at him. "do you want luffy safe, ace?" ace's eyes flared protectively, and sabo continued. "i know you do. if you stay here, when i have to stay here to get the other revolutionaries, no one is going to be guarding luffy. you'll be fighting, i'll be fighting. who will protect him? not himself, obviously. he's asleep. think, brother!"

ace backed off. "okay." he declared. "i'll get luffy." sabo grinned, proud of him. "i'll get jinbe, iva, inazuma, and the others."

both brothers jumped out of their hiding spots in sync.

sabo whipped his staff out of where it was strapped to his back. he twirled it expertly. he'd be lying if he wasn't half showing off.

ace's hands went aflame, the mera mera no mi coming to life.

blackbeard snarled, "just when i thought i was in the clear. i really let myself think you wouldn't save him." teach smirked, "too bad he fell unconscious believing you wouldn't save-"

"fire fist!"

blackbeard's and his crew's screams were engulfed in the flames. blackbeard screamed in a high pitched voice, his indignant "ow, ow, ow, ow! it's hot!" echoed.

teach realized giddily that ace must've been careless, because ace had just torched his own wounded, helpless baby brother in the flame too.

teach howled with laughter, mixing in with his cries of pain.

"oh, ace! you never learn! you flamed your own brother!" blackbeard laughed deliriously. this was just too perfect.

sabo would've turned his ass right back around as he heard teach say ace flamed luffy, but he knows ace would never harm a hair on that kid's head. not with fire, at least. ace would never lived with himself if he burnt luffy permanently. a brand of his own power slapped across luffy's skin would tear ace from the inside out.

besides, ace could control who or what the flames damaged. ace had told sabo about something like that with luffy with an adorably fond look on his face. he had told sabo that luffy hovered his hand into ace's flame that flickered from his hands once when they met in alabasta. ace had panicked, worried he'd hurt him, but ace had looked on in wonder as the orange-red flames licked his brother's skin.

ace had said luffy's face had topped it off. he had said he looked like his seven year old self, naive and innocent, but also facial features alight in wonder. the fire user had admitted in a faint blush of embarrassment that he had almost cooed at the sight, but stopped himself before he could do so. ace knew luffy would never let him live it down, if luffy even knew how much his small action had affected ace.

sabo had wondered aloud of what the flames felt like to luffy, and ace told him he asked him.

\--

_ace hummed, the flames flickering around luffy's soft fingers._

_"how does it feel?" ace wondered._

_luffy had smiled, but it wasn't a happy grin, all tooth and sunshine. it was a soft, knowing smile, no teeth in sight. just a gentle curve of his lips as he stared at ace's flame fondly, like he had a connection to it._

_"like you're hugging me." he mumbled, almost embarrassed. a look ace never sees on luffy._

_ace figured that was because ace yelled at luffy when he got sappy, and that this time was no different._

_but ace had blinked, surprised but welcomed the fuzzy, loving feeling in his chest for the kid feet from him._

_ace cocked his head curiously, "what does a hug from me feel like?"_

_luffy sighed nostalgically, "safe. warm. the place that i wish to be most, at home."_

_ace flushed, but took the soft words to add in some humor. "my hugs are that great?"_

_luffy had grinned this time, no shame in answering truthfully. "you're hugs are the best! they make me happy!"_

_ace almost sobbed at how adorable that answer was. ace was pretty sure luffy didn't realize how much that meant to him_.

\--

sabo sighed, shaking his head. he figured he would need an ace hug if they were as good as luffy says they are.

except, sabo wouldn't mind if ace hugs are only reserved for their baby brother, the person in this lonely, cruel, unfair world that ace loves most.

sabo slashed the chains circling the fishman's wrist-jinbe- and rushes to help ivankov.

the revolutionaries and the fishman still seemed shocked of the two brothers reveal of themselves, but iva's reaction took the cake.

his eyes widening, his jaw practically hitting the ground was priceless.

iva sighed, "i should've figured you two would never leave that kid to the sharks. especially after all he's done for ace-boy."

sabo smirked, "you know me so well, iva. i would never leave my baby brother to someone like him." he flicked his head to teach, who was still cackling in the flames.

ace made his way through the flames, his power guiding him towards other body stationed among the fire.

ace kneeled at luffy's side. the flames seemed to be alive, as though they were trying to comfort luffy. the blaze seemed to be lapping against luffy's skin, the fire cocooning his brother in warmth.

ace cradled his brother's jaw, slipping a hand under his small but muscular shoulders. the elder did remember his little brothers huge magma wound, so he'd need to be aware of that.

he picked up luffy in a bridal position, since draping him over his back or heaving him over his shoulder would worsen his chest wound.

blackbeard recovered from his injuries, stopping his laughter as he saw luffy was completely unharmed.

teach cackled once again, "it seems strawhat wasn't killed."

ace glared at him, "i'd never hurt my brother with my own powers."

teach shrugged, then screamed, "black hole!" the darkness came straight from teach's body and circled the area around him. the black death shot straight for him and luffy. ace sucked breath in between his teeth, then quickly set up a wall of fire between him and blackbeard.

sabo yelled at him from afar, "ace! get luffy out of here, go back to the ship!"

ace nodded sharply at him, turning tail and sprinting with luffy in his arms towards the ship.

"sorry if i jostle you, luffy." he gripped luffy's shoulders a little tighter as he stepped over a tree root.

sabo looked at the fire wall, and back at the revolutionaries and jinbe. "we need to get out of here while teach is trapped by ace's fire."

jinbe nodded, starting off in a run, his getas clopping silently against the grass.  
iva gripped sabo's shoulder and pulled sabo along with him. they ran side by side, "i'm still shocked straw-boy is your brother, and ace-boy too."

sabo laughed, "ace and luffy are my sworn brothers, yes. maybe not by blood, but we're so alike we might as well be."

iva considered that, "yes, you guys do have your similarities. you have straw-boy's eyes, and ace-boy's spirit."

sabo flushed, "ace and luffy's narcolepsy."

iva snorted, "yes, i did find it strange luffy fell asleep in the middle of a conversation. oh, and straw-boy does have ace-boy's hair, too.

sabo grinned, "their hair does look similar."

they continued to run, sprinting faster as they heard blackbeard's frustrated cries about ace getting away with luffy.

.  
.  
.

ace carried luffy onto the ship, koala gasping and murmuring, "poor thing." as she led ace to the infirmary.

he walked into the room, and koala pointed at a bed in a single room attached to this room.

"put your brother over there." koala said.

ace moved silently into the room away from all other beds. he gently placed luffy on the bed, koala returning with a doctor.  
the doctor hooked luffy onto the machines, ace watched, entranced, at luffy's gentle heartbeat. ace watched silently as luffy's body was wrapped in banadages. ace laughed quietly as luffy's hair stuck up in every direction as the doctor wrapped a bandage around his forehead.

the fire user's eyes looked over luffy's body protectively, as if his vision homed on luffy would keep him safe.

he heard chatter from outside the room. the doctor glanced up, "sabo and the others have returned." he supplied to ace's confusion.

ace stood, walking outside luffy's room to see sabo looking for him. "sabo!"

the blonde whipped his head to him, his features calming, his lips settling in a fond smile. "thank god."

sabo made his way to ace, flicking his top hat upwards. both brothers walked back into luffy's room. sabo sighed softly, kneeling at luffy's bedside. the doctor backed away.

"that should do it. if he just rests and doesn't irritate his chest wound, he'll be fine. make sure he doesn't wrangle around when he wakes up, since he'll probably panic." the doctor clicked his tongue. "he won't know where he is, but i'm guessing if you two stay in here he won't rip his bandages off."

ace nodded, "fine with me." sabo flicked his eyes to ace. "hey, you need to heal too."

ace blinked, glancing at his own body that was littered in dark, ugly bruises from impel down.

he sighed, "i'll be fine. luffy is more important."

sabo looked at the doctor helplessly. the doctor laughed breathlessly, "sabo, you act as though i can change his mind. you're his brother."

ace grinned smugly at sabo, "see? i'll be fine."

the doctor added one more thing before he left, his face stony, all laughter from earlier gone.

"if you're brother reopens that wound, he will bleed to death. whoever healed him did an impressive job, but if that reopens he won't make it out alive."

ace stiffened. sabo bit his lip hard enough to draw blood, "after getting this far, i'm not letting him go."

ace dipped his head in agreement, "i owe luffy for saving me at marineford. he can't die until i pay him back- actually scratch that, he can't die at all. not while i'm around."

the doctor's eyes flickered to luffy. "make sure to keep him still if he wakes up and panics. he might call for you, ace, since blackbeard told him he was after you again."

he turned around and left, the door clicking silently behind him as he shut it.

sabo placed a hand gently on luffy's bandaged back, rubbing it in a comforting motion. ace leaned back in his chair, almost to the point it'd tip over.

"after being away from you guys for ten years, i'm not letting him go again." ace lifted his head to meet sabo's fiery gaze.

sabo was done with getting toyed with. that night with the fire in gray terminal, the wall separating him from his brothers, only to get shot and lose his memories for ten years? and get branded with a nasty scar on his eye to remind him of that day?  
to top of all that off with only getting his memories back because he saw in the paper ace was going to executed.

he'll be damned if he lets his brothers go again.

"when he wakes up, do not let him rip open that wound."

ace nodded firmly, "i wasn't planning to let him open it anyways.

both brothers relaxed, sabo leaning his head on luffy's bed, his hand moved to luffy's hair to gently scratch his scalp. ace fell asleep in his spot nearby the bed, snoring quietly.

.  
.  
.

luffy's eyes flashed with colorful spots behind his eyelids. he felt pressure on his head, which felt like fingers. fingers..the fingers were scratching his head. it felt nice..comforting.

wait.

blackbeard.

jinbe, iva, the others.

ace.

ace was in trouble.

luffy sucked in a breath, and leaned up quick enough to give him whiplash from wherever he was laying down. the fingers in his hair moved immediately, and gripped his shoulders. they shoved luffy against the bed, holding him still. luffy didn't have enough energy to open his eyes, much less fight back against the hands.

but these hands- they were keeping him from ace.

luffy whined, a horrible amount of pain blooming from his chest. he kept trying to lean back up, but another pair of hands pushed his arms down. luffy realized he was terribly outmatched against whoever was keeping him here.

except, there were no sea prism chains on his wrists. there was no cold, prison floor beneath his feet. he was in a comfortable bed, and there were two people obviously looking over him while he slept. the hand comfortably massaging his hair couldn't have belonged to anyone in the blackbeard crew, much less be a marine in impel down.

luffy fell limp, coming to a conclusion he was probably not in any danger here. the hands stopped gripping him tightly, pulling away from him.

a voice in his mind repeated ace's name like a mantra, telling him to get the hell out of wherever he was. except, he could hear ace's voice. it sounded real, here, and alive. like ace was actually there with him.

he could make out two voices. one deep, smooth, and- fond? another one sounded like ace. his comforting, gripping voice seeping into luffy's mind. luffy could sense two presences near him, he just needed to open his eyes.

a hand slipped into his, and luffy would've cried out in relief, (if he could talk, anyways.) of how familiar the hand was.

the hand became hot, but it felt like fire.

only one person in the world could make their hand light up in fire.

luffy, working up all the energy in his body, sending a big screw you to his nervous system, gripped the hand back.

it was a weak grip, but his hand did its job. he just wanted to make sure ace knew luffy knew ace was there.

outside of luffy's subconsciousness, sabo and ace sighed in relief.

sabo had to grin, "i actually had to put some effort into keeping him still."

the other snorted, a smirk covering ace's lips as well, "i know right? you should've seen him at marineford. he's gotta a hell of a lot stronger since you were still around."

sabo sighed longingly, "i bet."

ace's eyes shone proudly, "he used conqueror's haki, sabo!"

sabo's mouth fell open, "he what? actually, why am i surprised. of course luffy would have conqueror's haki, if he is going to be the king."

ace grinned, "but anyways, at least luffy knows not to squirm around anymore." he glanced at he and luffy's conjoined hands. "he squeezed my hand back. he knows i'm here."

"i can't wait to meet him." sabo tapped luffy's temple in a repeating rhythm.

"i bet he'll cry." sabo snorted, "you act as though i'm going to bet he won't."

luffy breathed softly, a groan bubbling from his lips. both brothers' gazes flicked to luffy, watching luffy shift slightly, his face scrunching up in effort.

"he's probably trying to wake up." ace suggested.

sabo laughed mischievously, "i'm gonna pick him up and see how long it takes him to realize someone's holding him."

ace smirked, "you two will look adorable."

the blonde rolled his eyes fondly. he moved to the other side of luffy's bed. gently removing the heart monitor cord hooked to him, he slipped his arms around a still groggy luffy. he hefted him into his arms like a baby, moving to ace's side and plopping himself down into one of the chairs. one of sabo's arms were draped around luffy's waist, while his other hand massaged his scalp.

ace laughed, "he looks so cute, sabo."

luffy's eyes finally flickered opened, homing in on ace. ace saw that luffy couldn't get his face to move in really any facial expression, but he could see the relief in his eyes.

luffy spoke so softly it almost wasn't even spoken, "you're alive."

ace snorted, "why wouldn't i be?"

luffy couldn't get himself to retort with any heat behind it. he opened his mouth to respond, but closed it knowing he can't get himself to speak.

"yeah, don't strain yourself trying to speak, luffy." ace said.

it was that moment when luffy saw the arm around his waist, and registered the hand in his hair. luffy didn't move, since, well, it was comfortable and ace wasn't upset about it so luffy had no reason to be upset.

but luffy did cock his head curiously. he tapped the arm on his bandaged middle with wonder. without speaking, he looked up at ace, his eyes asking the question. luffy was confused to see a slight smirk on his face, glancing at luffy once, but his gaze moving to the person holding him. ace's grin got bigger, and he figured the person holding him matched ace's grin.

luffy leaned his head to the side, pushing his ear against their chest. he listened to the soft ba-bump, ba-bump of their heart beating. whoever was holding him, this person reminded him of ace.

the arm tightened slightly around him. almost protectively.

finally, the person spoke, their chest rumbling as they did so. "it hurts my feelings you don't know who i am yet, brother."

the brother nickname made luffy freeze, and he faintly recognized the voice to be the deep, comforting one from earlier.

luffy glanced at ace, confused. "why did you call me..?" if anything, ace's grin grew.

ace sighed, "truly, such a shame you don't recognize the voice of your other brother."

luffy went even more still than before, "but-sabo..? sabo's dea-"

the man holding him, supposedly sabo, spoke, "no, i'm not dead. never was. i was saved."

injuries and tiredness be damned.

luffy turned his head so fast he saw stars. he heard ace's faint snigger, but he couldn't care any less. he came face to face with a face he hasn't seen in years. the round eyes, a knowing grin, that top hat with red goggles, the wavy blonde hair-

luffy bit his lip that started to wobble. his eyes welled with tears and he shoved his face in sabo's chest, sobbing quietly.

he heard sabo laugh softly, his hand rubbing comforting circles on his back. he felt him kiss the top of his head and heard sabo's voice, and hell- it felt so nice to hear that voice, "sorry i was gone for so long."

luffy wept quietly, covering sabo's shirt with tears. he heard ace sigh fondly, "i knew he'd cry."

"what you expected him not to?" sabo asked.

he felt another pair of arms wrap around him, the body heating itself and luffy.

he could hear his brothers teasing him, the older two having a quiet conversation over luffy's head. luffy couldn't give a damn.

he had sabo back, he had ace back.

he had his brothers back, and-well.

luffy couldn't see any better outcome from fighting the world government than that.

**Author's Note:**

> i hoped you liked this, and i'm sorry for any mistakes!
> 
> this idea came to me randomly, and i haven't seen any other stories like it, and that needed to be fixed hella quick.
> 
> comments and kudos appreciated!


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